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GEZİ PARK

Up until the 19th century, the area currently home to the Hilton was a Latin cemetery, the piece of land stretching from Gümüşsuyu to the Military Hospital a Muslim cemetery, and towards the Divan Hotel, TRT Radio building and the Harbiye Military Museum an Armenian cemetery. The Armenian Surp Agop (Saint Jacob) Cemetery dates back to the great plague of Istanbul in 1560. The Armenian community would bury their dead in the plague in this place – then considered out of town – across from where the Surp Agop Hospital is currently located.

Amidst these extensive Latin, Muslim and Armenian cemeteries there was a large recreational area up on the hilltop. This Taksim Garden was tended to by the Bostancı Ocağı (Gardener Corps/Regiments) responsible for the care of Ottoman imperial gardens. Selim III began the construction of military barracks in this area in 1803 for the artillery units of the Kapıkulu Corps. The building was completed in 1806, yet suffered considerable damage during the Kabakçı Mustafa Revolt of 1807. It was repaired under the reign of Mahmud II, and later renovated by Sultans Abdulaziz and Abdulhamid II. The Orientalist façade of the building, along with the onion-domed, pointed turrets in the corners and decorations are additions made in restorations dated around 1862. Becoming a rebel base in the 31 March Incident that took place in 1909 during the last days of the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the barracks were bombarded in order to break the resistance and thus recaptured. Severely damaged, the building was never repaired or used ever again. The vacant land across the barracks was where soldiers did their drills, after which the neighbourhood of Talimhane (meaning ‘drill field’) takes its name.

An English-style garden was built in 1870 in the grassy field with a Bosphorus and Golden Horn view where the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel (the former Sheraton) is currently located. The entrance to the garden surrounded in heavily wooded green spaces, interconnected via walkways, was on the Elmadağ side. It encompassed the “Bellevue” café, where the Atatürk Library now lies, along with a fountain, a kiosk and two wooden clubhouses. Its name came from the breathtakingly scenic view it commanded. Yet, with the onset of World War I, the garden was neglected and left to wither away.

The inner courtyard of the Artillery Barracks (Topçu Kışlası) was later used as a sports field, and came to host what is generally considered the very first national football game which ended in a 2-2 draw between Turkey and Romania in the first year of the Republic. In those years national contests in wrestling, riding and shooting were held here, and it hosted many an interesting event in terms of Turkey’s and Istanbul’s history ranging from the display of a giant shark captured in Marmara to classical music concerts. Consequently, casinos and entertainment venues began thriving in its environs. In the 1930s the stables of the barracks were torn down, and the clearance of such a wide expanse of land revealed the ruinous state of the barracks in an even more pronounced manner.

The Taksim Garden was re-established in the City Plan of 1939. Gezi Park, or Park No. 2 as was officially named, was brought into being through multiple confiscations over 11-12 years in line with the proposition by city planner Henri Prost, charged with the urban planning of the city as of 1936, to create an extensive and continuous park in the area. The demolition of the barracks began in 1939. It was also in this period that the entirety of the Armenian Cemetery located here was confiscated. The Church of Surp Krikor Lusavoriç (St. Gregory the Illuminator) was taken down and those who had their dead buried here were given a certain amount of time to transfer their remains. Most of the gravestones were used in the restoration of the new Eminönü Square designed by Prost as well as the steps of Gezi Park. The Park was beautifully arranged, adorned with trees, greenery and flowers with the limited financial means that were then available. Its spacious panoramic terraces, walkways, marble steps, sturdy and elegant benches, and well-kept turf fields made Gezi a center of attraction, a promenade site frequented by the populace at large. The old clubhouse was replaced by the Taksim Municipal Casino that was to host weddings, official meetings, and Republican balls. The square, redesigned along with Gezi Park, became a symbol of the Republic and gradually of Istanbul as well. Taking advantage of the slope on the Cumhuriyet Avenue side, shops and spaces for an art gallery and cafeteria were built. In 1967, the Beyoğlu Marriage Office and a clubhouse with a wedding hall were added to these.

The park was planned as a green space stretching from Gezi in Taksim to Maçka Park and the hills of Dolmabahçe through a pedestrian walkway behind the Divan Hotel, encompassing the entire property now belonging to the Hilton. According to plan, this area was also to contain a Sports and Exhibition Center (Spor Sergi Sarayı) and Open Air Theatre designed by Aron Angel, a municipal consultant serving as Prost’s assistant. Yet in time, the sites reserved for green spaces were allotted to hotels on grounds that those coming to Istanbul needed accommodation. In 1952, under the government of Adnan Menderes who had major projects in mind for Istanbul, a decision was made to build the Hilton on the lands of the park, and Aron Angel resigned, objecting to the construction of a hotel in this area they had taken great pains to seize for public use and convert into green space under wartime conditions. The building sponsored by the State Retirement Fund (Emekli Sandığı) was completed in 1955, and the Hilton opened its doors with a grandiose ceremony in which hotel manager Conrad Hilton was awarded the title of honorary citizenship. The Sheraton (now Ceylan Intercontinental) became the second hotel to rise in the park’s grounds after the Hilton.